Opus

Chronoswiss Opus Black Magic Watch

The Opus goes black. Hard and black. Chronoswiss gets real edgy with this piece. They take their standard skeletonized Opus watch and coat the whole thing in a special type of black DLC called Dianoir (base steel) - suggested by Chronoswiss to be harder than DLC. Until I learn more, I am just going to assume it is a fancy application of DLC (diamond like carbon). Black mixes with two other devilish colors. Bright red for the hands, and steel tones for much of the movement. Though the skeletonized and decorated movement has black components as well. Is it an entirely new watch? Not really. More like a spell was cast on a standard Opus style watch with... black magic.

While not for everyday wear (well, maybe), the red hands look sharp and charismatically spooky against the black. The classic style Chronoswiss case with the large crown and straight thin lugs adapts well to the polished black tones. Movement is an automatic chronograph which is a Chronoswiss modified ETA Valjoux 7750. A pretty dashing timepiece - goes to show what a little color can do. Price will likely be a little premium over the about $6,500 that the standard Opus pieces cost.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: black magic, Chronoswiss, Opus, watch

Contest! CigarsDirect Giveaway for "March Madness"

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

If you know basketball and love cigars, take a look at this new contest from CigarsDirect.com. Join the company's fantasy league on CBS Sportsline – choose your winners wisely – and you could walk away with up to $1,000 worth of cigars. Prizes are available for the top 10 participants based on points earned.

1st Place: 2008 Opus X Cigar Charity Box ($999.95 retail value)
2nd Place: Opus X Robusto Cigar Box ($839.55 retail value)
3rd Place: Hemingway Between the Lines Cigar Box ($799.95 retail value)
4th Place: Arturo Fuente Anejo #77 "Shark" Cigar Box ($575.95 retail value)
5th Place: Padron 1964 Anny Torpedo Natural Cigar Box ($319.95 retail value)
6th Place: 2006 God of Fire Robusto Tubo Cigar Box ($184.75 retail value)
7th Place: Hemingway Short Story Cigar Box ($139.99 retail value)
8th Place: 1992 Rare Estate Opus X Robusto Cigar Tin ($94.95 retail value)
9th Place: Padron 1926 Series Sampler Maduro ($74.95 retail value)
10th Place: $50 Gift Certificate good toward any purchase on CigarsDirect.com

My goal, I have to admit, would be to finish fourth, fifth or ninth.

[Photo by Steve Zak]

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Tags: basketball, cigar, cigars, contest, fuente, giveaway, giveaways, march madness, MarchMadness, opus, sport, sports

A Lavish Look At The Haj

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

The haj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, gets grand treatment in the form of a $10 million movie called "Journey to Mecca" and an accompanying coffee table book from luxury publisher Kraken Opus. The movie was shot in IMAX, is narrated by Ben Kingsley and follows 14th-century Arabian explorer Ibn Battuta on his first holy pilgrimage of haj in 1325. The world premiere took place at the Emirates Palace hotel.

The book will include more than 2,500 photographs, poetry and artwork related to the haj and will cost more than $3 million to complete. It will cost around $4,000 a copy and unlike other Opus books it is not a limited edition. The goal is to have a book in every mosque around the world. The book will be released during Ramadan this year. The first copy of the book will be auctioned off for charity.

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Tags: haj, kraken opus, KrakenOpus, mecca, opus

The Opus, Zaha Hadid's Unique Vision For Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

This rather startling building is the Opus development in the Business Bay district in Dubai. The $266.7 million project is being created by real estate developer Omniyat Properties and will appear to hover above the ground. The development is actually three separate towers which appear as one single cube with an asymmetrical hole called "the void" in the center. The outside of the towers will be covered in a glass façade featuring patterns. The Opus will hold retail space and residences and the top floor will include a beach deck, reflective pool, shaded roof terrace and a gym. Construction is due to start later this year and the project should be completed by 2010.

[via ArabianBusiness.com]

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Tags: architecture, construction, design, development, dubai, opus, zaha hadid, ZahaHadid